Chris Smither

by Richard SkellyLike John Hammond and a handful of other musicians whose careers began in the 1960s blues revival, guitarist, singer and songwriter Chris Smither can take pride in the fact that hes been there since the beginning. Except for a few years when he was away from performing in the 1970s, Smither has been a mainstay of the festival, coffee house and club circuits around the U.S., Canada and Europe since his performing career began in earnest in the coffeehouses in Boston in the spring of 1966.Smither is best known for his great songs, items like Love You like a Man and I Feel the Same, both of which have been recorded by guitarist Bonnie Raitt. Raitt and Smither got started at about the same time in the coffeehouse scene around Boston, though Smither was born and raised in New Orleans, the son of university professors.Smithers earliest awareness of blues and folk music came from his parents record collection. In a 1992 interview, he recalled it included albums by Josh White, Susan Reed and Burl Ives. After a short stint taking piano lessons, Smither switched to ukulele after discovering his mothers old instrument in a closet. The young Smither was passionately attached to the ukulele, and now, years later, it helps to explain the emotion and expertise behind his unique finger-picking guitar style. Smither discovered blues music when he was 17 and heard a Lightnin Hopkins album, Blues in the Bottle. The album was a major revelation to him and he subsequently spent weeks trying to figure out the intricate guitar parts hed heard on that record. Smither moved to Boston after realizing he was a big fish in a small pond in the New Orleans folk/coffeehouse circuit of the mid-60s. Also, acoustic blues pioneer Ric Von Schmidt had recommended Smither check out the Boston folk/blues scene. Smither recorded his first couple of albums for the Poppy label in 1970 and 1971, Im a Stranger Too and Dont It Drag On. In 1972, Smither recorded a third album, Honeysuckle Dog, for United Artists, that was never released. On the sessions for that album, he was joined in the studio by his old friends Bonnie Raitt and Mac Rebennack, aka Dr. John. After a long bout with alcohol, Smither launched his recording career again in the late 80s, although he was performing through the whole time he wasnt sober.His return to a proper recording career, due to a deal with Flying Fish Records, didnt happen again until 1991, when the label released Another Way to Find You, a folk-blues album. Smither did record for Adelphi label in 1984, It Aint Easy, which has since been re-released on compact disc. Since then, hes more than proved his mettle as an enormously gifted songwriter, releasing albums of mostly his own compositions for the Flying Fish and Hightone labels. Smithers other albums include Happier Blue (1993, Flying Fish), and Up on the Lowdown (1995, HighTone Records).Any of Smithers Flying Fish releases or his HighTone releases (including 1999s Drive You Home Again and 2000s Live As Ill Ever Be) are worthy of careful examination by guitarists and students of all schools of blues music. Smither is still to some extent an unheralded master of modern acoustic blues. Fortunately, his festival bookings through the 1990s have elevated his profile to a higher level than hes ever enjoyed previously.